The present nonprovisional application claims priority under 35 USC 119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-015542 filed on Jan. 24, 2002 the entire contents thereof is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to equipment for testing wheel durability wherein marginal portion of a rim is uniformly pressed when mounting a wheel, the wheel is rendered capable of being evaluated in a state closer to an actual vehicle state, and yet it is arranged so as to reduce damage on a load applying means side which applies a load to an axle corresponding member.
2. Description of Background Art
The durability of a vehicle wheel is evaluated by equipment for testing wheel durability in a state close to an actual vehicle state.
More specifically, a wheel for testing is mounted on an axle, and the wheel and the axle are rotated in a state in which a load is applied to the axle side or the wheel side to evaluate fatigue strength at each portion of the wheel.
Equipment for testing wheel durability is disclosed in xe2x80x9cWheel Durability Test Equipmentxe2x80x9d as set forth in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-288046.
In FIGS. 1 and 3 of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-288046, equipment for testing wheel durability 20 is described, in which a wheel 10 is mounted on a rotary table 21 (with regard to the reference numerals set forth in this discussion, the reference numerals described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-288046 have been used, and so forth) through the use of a plurality of pressing jigs 23. One end of a moment arm 25 corresponding to the axle is mounted on the disk portion of the wheel 10 with bolts and nuts, and a load is applied to the other end of this moment arm 25 by pressing means 32.
The above-described pressing jig 23 is a small board piece-shaped member, and the wheel 10 is pressed by a plurality of pressing jigs 23 in circumferential positions of the rim marginal portion thereof.
In the above-described equipment for testing wheel durability 20, since the rim marginal portion of the wheel 10 is partially pressed by a plurality of board piece-shaped pressing jigs 23, it is difficult to make the pressing force of each pressing jig 23 constant, and it becomes impossible to uniformly press the rim marginal portion. For example, if the pressing force of the pressing jig 23 becomes locally low, it causes the wheel 10 to rattle during a durability test, and if the pressing force becomes high, the rim marginal portion becomes locally deformed.
Also, when a cylinder is used that is driven by hydraulic pressure or pneumatic pressure as a means for applying a load to the tip end of the moment arm 25, the cylinder is directly coupled to the tip end of the moment arm 25. If, for example, the wheel 10 is damaged during the durability test and an excessive external force from the moment arm 25 is exerted on the cylinder, the cylinder will suffer heavy damage and possibly need repair or replacement.
Further, the equipment for testing wheel durability should preferably be able to test in a state closer to the actual vehicle state in order to enhance the accuracy in the evaluation of the wheel durability.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to improve the equipment for testing wheel durability to thereby uniformly press the rim marginal portion when mounting a wheel, to render the wheel capable of being evaluated in a state closer to an actual vehicle state, and yet to arrange so as to reduce damage on a load applying means side which applies a load to an axle corresponding member.
In order to achieve the above-described object, equipment for testing wheel durability is provided, in which the marginal portion of the rim portion of the wheel is mounted to the rotary disk, one end of the shaft corresponding to the axle is mounted to the disk portion of the wheel, and the rotary disk is rotated in a state in which a load is applied to the other end of this shaft for thereby evaluating the durability of the wheel, wherein the marginal portion of the wheel is mounted to the rotary disk while pressing with the pressing members obtained by dividing a ring-shaped plate into two.
By means of the pressing members obtained by dividing the ring-shaped plate into two, it is possible to mount the wheel to the rotary disk with an uniform pressing force in the circumferential direction, for preventing rattling, local deformation and the like of the wheel.
The present invention includes a shaft that is mounted to the disk portion of the wheel through the hub provided for the vehicle.
Through the use of the hub to be actually provided for the vehicle, it is possible to confirm the fatigue strength of the wheel in a state closer to the actual vehicle state, and in addition thereto, to confirm also the fatigue strength of the hub.
The present invention provides a load that is generated by the weight. For example, even when the wheel is damaged during the durability test and an excessive external force is exerted to the weight through the shaft, the weight is difficult to be damaged.
The present invention provides a weight that is integrally mounted to the tip end of the shaft. It is possible to directly exert the load of the weight on the shaft, and to enhance the testing accuracy.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.